On December 1, the U.S. Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission, Minister Barbara Stephenson, hosted an evening reception at her residence to showcase the entertaining and insightful documentary "Carbon Nation." (www.carbonnationmovie.com) Director and Producer Peter Byck narrated a selection of clips from the film, and engaged in a lively Q&A session with an enthusiastic audience. One of Peter's central themes – which he stressed in his remarks and is evident throughout "Carbon Nation" — is that the United States is not nearly as divided on climate/clean energy issues as many media accounts would have us believe. This is particularly true when the focus of discussion is on finding innovative solutions to the growing energy demands of the country and the world.

The film highlights a range of clean energy technologies that are taking root in the U.S., including wind, geothermal, bioenergy, solar, combined heat and power, new generation electric vehicles, as well as a range of cost-effective energy efficiency measures. While there is no doubt that there have been difficulties enacting comprehensive climate/energy legislation at the federal level, Peter's film makes clear that there is a tremendous amount of activity taking place across the United States — at the State and Local levels of government and among many very creative and forward thinking U.S. companies.

For those who have not had a chance to see "Carbon Nation" yet, we wholeheartedly encourage you to do so. After having seen it, you will have a much richer and more comprehensive picture of the many exciting clean energy developments underway in the U.S. For those interested, the film will be shown in its entirety on December 6 at 6:00 PM at The Tabernacle, off Portobello Road in Notting Hill, followed by a Q&A with Peter Byck. For more information on tickets and directions, please see the attached flier: Carbon Nation Showing on Dec 6.

21st ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL MEDIA AWARDS(EMA)

- DOCUMENTARY CATEGORY

The annual EMA Awards honor film and television personalities, productions, musicians and musical tours that convey environmental messages in the most creative and influential ways. The award ceremony will take place on October 15, 2011 at Warner Bros Studios.

Nature Climate Change (2011) doi:10.1038/nclimate1224Published online 04 September 2011A stream of scientists tell us that the Arctic could disappear in a decade, one in every two animals could go extinct, the ocean will rise, extreme weather will hit the planet and, ultimately, climate change will lead to the “potential decline and collapse of civilization”: Carbon Nation starts with the same climate change sermon everyone has heard before.

Then the film takes its critical turn: “I've heard enough. I don't need to hear any more about 'we're all doomed'. We know it's a big task, but it's also a fantastic, and huge, opportunity,” says a lone voice at the end of the documentary's introduction.

Carbon Nation is a film about solutions, not problems, proclaims its US director and producer, Peter Byck. More than that, it's a film about solutions that will make every-day Americans cold hard cash. So, they can get behind action on emissions even if they don't believe that climate change is a big problem or that people are causing it — as, the movie tells us, a third of Americans still do. “If you don't give a damn about the environment, [act on climate change] because you're a greedy bastard and you just want cheap power,” advises Carbon Nation interviewee Sean Casten, president of the Westmont Illinois-based company Recycled Energy Development.